Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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Sunday, August 9, saw thunderclouds roll through the Odessa area, as lightning strikes produced wildfires. The fires burned mostly sage brush and bunchgrass pasture land but also threatened several homes in and around the former town of Irby. Firefighters fought diligently to protect the homes on farms and within Irby, and they were successful in doing so. The fire was bearing down on the home of Alex and Kaci King and their young son Simon after roaring through tinder-dry...
A traveling circus came through the area last Saturday. An advance member of the group came through town the preceding Wednesday to put up posters and give out free tickets to business owners. Unfortunately, the Black Rock Road fire blew up and threatened the town the same day as the performance. Those who were not fighting the fire were likely off to area lakes to beat the heat and relax following the completion of harvest. Whatever the reasons, attendance at the circus was...
Saturday turned out to be a very hectic day for area firefighters and, ultimately, for firefighters throughout the state as hot temperatures and breezy conditions rapidly turned small fires into major conflagrations. By evening, a pall of smoke covered the town of Odessa, as fire crews worked to hold the leading edge of the fire line at Batum Road, about five miles outside of town on Highway 28. Firefighters from many other jurisdictions poured into Odessa, setting up a...
The Odessa Town Council met Monday evening in the public library to discuss the town’s business. Council member Terry Goetz reported on the history of Odessa’s downtown trees. Recent discussions at meetings of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and Town Council had led to more questions than answers regarding responsibility for the trees. Goetz quoted the May 3, 2007 edition of The Odessa Record in which then publisher Don Walter wrote that the Kwanson flowering cherry trees that had been planted along the First Avenue bus...
The Odessa area wheat crop is now being harvested and delivered to the town's two grain cooperatives. The Odessa Trading Company (a division of Ritzville Warehouse) received an initial load of club wheat on July 1 in the Batum area southwest of Odessa, according to marketing manager Mark Cronrath. He estimates that about 30 to 35 percent of the wheat harvest has already been delivered to the Trading Company's rural and in-town stations. Over at the Odessa Union Warehouse,...
The Odessa pool opened June 19, under the direction of this year’s pool manager Katelyn Worley and her assistants Casey Schlomer and Shelbey Watkins. Lifeguards this year are Maleah Davison, Parker Valverde, Patrick Valverde, Alayna Watkins, McKennah Davison, Rebecca Fortner, Brenna Carstensen, Mya Boss and Natosha Boss. As in past years, the pool will be closed Mondays. Open swimming for all ages will be offered Tuesdays-Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. and again from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Adults only s...
Kaylene James has opened a daycare business in her home in Odessa. Kinder Haus Family Home Child Care is fully licensed by the state and, in addition to private pay, can accept child-care allowances provided by the Department of Social and Health Services. Since this is her first year in business, she is currently licensed for six children, but at the end of the first year, she will be allowed to expand and hire more adult helpers to meet the required adult-to-child ratio. Jam...
Odessa High School's 13 graduating seniors celebrated the beginning of their new futures June 4 in the school gymnasium (see page 4 for pictures and student speeches). Some will further their education and some will go straight into the workforce. AnnaRenée Bockman will attend Studio Beauty School. Directly entering the workforce will be Hunter Bramer, Johnathon Brightwell, Garrett Gross and Caleb McNeil.Heading to Spokane Falls Community College are Casey Schlomer and Paige...
Odessa resident Kathy Ratkowski told The Record about the most memorable weekend she has ever experienced. She was picked up by her daughter, son-in-law and two of the couple’s children, a boy 12 and a girl 14, last week Thursday. They were taking a family trip to the high school graduation of another grandchild of Ratkowski in Colorado Springs. The family group headed east on I-90, reaching Missoula, Mont. by 3:30 a.m. Friday morning. They stopped for gas and snacks at a convenience store near a casino. On entering the c...
The Odessa Athletics Hall of Fame, approximately a year in the making, is about to induct its inaugural class of athletes, coaches, teams and contributors at the annual alumni banquet to be held June 18 in the Odessa Community Center. A committee headed by chairman Bruce Todd, athletic director at Odessa High School, has been meeting about once each month since March of 2015 to lay the groundwork for the hall of fame. Vice chairman Jon Heimbigner, an OHS alumnus, has contributed his expertise in establishing sports halls of...
The silver anniversary of the wine tasting, microbrew tasting and auction put on by the Odessa Healthcare Foundation to benefit the local medical campus was a well-attended event again this year. After 25 years, the event has not gotten stale or dated. The brews and wine flowed, as did the conversation. Clark Kagele did his usual stellar job of emceeing the event, and Jacob Barth of Yarbro Auctioneers returned again this year to serve as auctioneer, a profession he learned at his grandfather’s knee. Some of the funds r...
21 R H E Selkirk 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 O-H 2 5 2 0 1 2 12 11 3 At home on Tuesday, April 26, the Titan baseball team played a double-header against Selkirk, taking the first game 12-2. Brad Johnston pitched the entire six innings played, allowing only two runs on two hits (no earned runs), striking out 12 batters and allowing no walks. He threw a total of 84 pitches, of which 63 were strikes. Marcus King had a flawless day at the plate, getting singles in each of his three at-bats and tallying one RBI. Jaden Hunt had...
15 R H E St. J. 0 0 0 0 5 5 3 3 O-H 1 1 3 4 6 15 10 2 Brad Johnston pitched the first three innings against St. John in the first game of a doubleheader in that town on April 5 and set the tone for the rest of the game by allowing only two hits, no runs and striking out five batters. Meanwhile, the Titan batters came on strong, earning five runs in those same first three innings. Camden Weber relieved Johnston in the fourth but had an off game. After giving up a hit and walking five batters, resulting in five earned...
Lincoln County Commissioner Mark Stedman submitted a proposal to the Odessa Town Council at their last meeting on April 11 that would increase the sales tax collected within Lincoln County by 3/10 of one percent. The rate, which is currently 7.7 percent, would rise to 8.0 percent. The taxes collected now go four different entities. The state of Washington get 6.5 percent, local jurisdictions get 1.0 percent, criminal justice gets 0.1 percent and emergency communications get 0.1 percent. If the tax rate is raised to 8.0 percen...
The Odessa school district’s production of the musical Hairspray Jr. was held March 31 in the school multipurpose room. Two performances were held, the early one mainly for school children and the later one for community members at large. There were some notable performances. Molly Schafer as the female lead projected her voice well for her spoken dialogue, but unfortunately her singing was often overpowered by the musical score. Kiegan Wehr as the emcee of a television had the cadence and inflection of a professional TV p...
By TERRIE SCHMIDT-CROSBY The latest running of the Desert 100 is now behind us, and by all accounts it was as successful as ever. For a very pleasant change, the weather cooperated with temperatures in the low 70s and very little wind. Vendors battled sunburn rather than windburn, but we heard no complaints. Other than a few minor hiccups here and there, the event went smoothly for the Stumpjumper Motorcycle Club, whose members are now hard at work compiling the names and placement of the many riders involved in the various e...
Last Thursday, March 24, Odessa's newest business offering, Rolling Thunder Pizza, passed its final inspection with the Lincoln County Health Department and began serving pizza that same evening. With such short notice and only social media to spread the word, the first night was slow, as was to be expected. Only one pizza was sold. Word spread rapidly after that, and the next evening 15 pizzas went out the door. On Saturday, they sold out. Brothers Nate and James Lathrop boug...
The Odessa Fire Department's equipment auction last Saturday, February 27, was a big draw, as rigs from near and far poured into town for the 9 a.m. start. Much of the farming equipment was from the estate of local farmer/rancher Mike Connolly, with additional items from the (Brian) Homberg Farms estate. The Lincoln County Roads Dept. and Sheriff's Office also contributed consignment vehicles to the auction. Only a couple of items remained unsold, and those items were finding...
A committee of approximately 15 Odessa former athletes, coaches and supporters has held seven meetings since March of 2015, endeavoring to compile a list of candidates for an Odessa Athletic Hall of Fame. Thus far, the group has established its mission statement and rules and regulations for eligibility for the hall of fame. A list has been created to date of 89 athletes, 15 coaches, nine contributors and various teams (state tournament winners in football, tennis, track and field and volleyball). The committee is chaired by...
The Odessa Town Council met Monday evening in the public library with all council members present. Marlene Kramer, re-elected in last fall's election, was sworn in to serve her four-year term by town clerk Gail Kiesz. Mayor Lois Hubbard addressed the agenda item of a residential income survey that will be conducted by the town under the supervision of the state's Department of Commerce [see also Mayor Hubbard's letter to editor on page 2]. The results of the survey will...
After several years of no or very little snow for Christmas, Odessa has finally had a white one. Much welcome snow began coming down in mid-December. Right before the holiday, there was snow, then warm enough temperatures to melt some of the snow, then some very wet snow or a mix of rain and snow (those who shoveled any of it know how heavy it was), followed by a cold snap and more snow. So now folks are having to drive on streets that did not all get cleared and have deep rut...
The Washington State Transportation Improvement Board has awarded the town of Odessa the sum of $171,470 for the installation of sidewalks on First Street from Fourth Avenue to Marjorie Street. The roadway in question has sidewalks in some portions of it but not in others. The project would ensure that the entire stretch would have sidewalks along both sides of the road. The route is used by many Odessa school children walking to and from school. The route also connects the school to the ag shop used by students, to the...
The Odessa FFA chapter’s annual Halloween Carnival was held October 31, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Odessa Community Center, with old games, new games and lots of fun for young and old. After the carnival closed, most of the crowd headed out to canvass the neighborhoods of Odessa for sweet treats. Despite the rain, reports were received that there were plenty of trick-or-treaters out knocking on doors. FFA members stayed at the community center to have their own dinner of hamburgers or hotdogs and to then clean up the facility a...
Last Thursday evening, October 15, Odessa residents living on or near First Avenue or driving through town were startled by the sudden appearance of numerous law enforcement vehicles with lights flashing converging on the parking lot of Washington Federal Bank at the corner of First Avenue and Alder Street. A man was taken into custody as he approached the ATM machine at that bank. Odessa police chief Helen Coubra told The Record that officers arrested Thomas A. Harris of Odessa on charges of violating the Uniform Controlled...
At the October 12 meeting of the Odessa Town Council, members approved the final version of the airport lease agreement with Odessa Air Service. Public works director Rod Webster reported he had been in contact with the permitting agencies with regard to cleaning trees, non-native grasses and debris out of the bed and banks of Crab Creek within the town limits. He said he hoped the cleanup could begin the following week. He was told that no motorized vehicles whatsoever were allowed to operate within the creek bed....
